The Chatham-Savannah Authority for the Homeless last year counted 4,202 homeless individuals here, a claimed decrease of 22 percent from the 5,379 counted the year before.

But, a recently completed draft report by a consultant team called in to study the authority’s operations took issue with the accuracy of the authority’s homeless count methods.

The use of an annual Department of Housing and Urban Development-mandated “point in time” homeless census taken once each January and the authority’s cumulative annual count “caused confusion among many nonspecialists,” the report found.

It said the problem was compounded by a lack of agreement among the different agencies over use of criteria and methods to collect and report the data.

“The number ‘of homeless people’ in Savannah is disputed as being highly inflated by some local ‘homeless advocates,’” the draft said.

Union Mission

Union Mission has advocated for the homeless here since 1936.

It is a key provider of services that include an emergency shelter, a heavy emphasis on permanent supportive housing and about 250 “beds” for homeless folk scattered across downtown Savannah and through southside Chatham County.

She said her group’s focus is to get people through the emergency shelter level and into permanent, supportive housing, such as the 48-unit Dutchtown apartment complex on Middleground Road.

“We want them to have stable housing,” Carter said, adding that it “allows the homeless to restructure their lives and get back on track.”

Salvation Army

Last year, Platt said, he noticed people were staying longer at his group’s 24-hour emergency shelter at 3100 Montgomery St., numbers he attributes to the economy.

In addition to the Montgomery Street site, the agency provides emergency assistance with groceries, prescription and utility bills and life skills training at its Community Center at 3000 Bee Road.

“You have good folks who are going homeless for more days but are doing everything they can to find work,” Platt said. “It’s not any fault of their own. They can’t find a job.”

For 2012, the Salvation Army was on pace to serve as many as 1,200 people, he said. That would be a slight increase over the 928 in 2011, with 41,000 nights of shelter and 124,000 meals served.

“Just about every night we’re at capacity,” Platt said of his 124-bed facility.

Residents can stay for 90 days, then must be out for six months, but Platt said those numbers are flexible.

And he said officials there have seen more families, more children coming to use the army.

Old Savannah City Mission

At Old Savannah City Mission, a shift in mission focus for the emergency shelter in February showed 19,612 through November, down from 27,972 for 2011.

But director of programs Reginald Lee is quick to point out those numbers reflect a shift in focus and should not be viewed as a decrease in homelessness or the need for emergency shelter.

The mission’s “emergency shelter is a temporary safe haven from the streets and not intended to be viewed or become a permanent solution for homeless,” Lee said.

The new focus is to provide seven days of emergency shelter and 30 days outside the shelter for help with employment and housing.

Soup kitchens

At the Emmaus House soup kitchen, where breakfast is served five days a week, Kim Bockius-Suwyn, board president of United Ministries, umbrella for the Emmaus House, said the agency’s focus is on the soup kitchen in the face of decreased funding.

The group formerly served a midday meal, but in January 2010 shifted to breakfast to avoid duplication of midday services with the Social Apostolate of Savannah.

“We want to feed people,” she said, noting that her clients seem to be some of the same group of people who have been around for years.

But she said they now see a rise in people coming in with luggage and a real increase in young people ages 20-30.

The agency served 1,365 clients in 2011, including providing 910 showers and laundry services, according to interim director David Acuff.

“We are a faith-based organization,” Bockius-Suwyn said. “We are called to feed the hungry.”

The soup kitchen is in space provided by Christ Church Episcopal, an annual value of $42,000 including the church parish house at 18 Abercorn St., with its largest donor being the Stewart Houston Charitable Foundation.

But she finds her crowd is “pretty well self policing” since they don’t want police officers called.

And house rules call for a lifetime ban if police are called because of misconduct, Bockius-Suwyn said.